Page 24 of Second Chance Wedding
She frowned at him and the question given their topic, but then turned her head as a waitress stopped at their table.
“May I take your order?”
They ordered drinks, though he doubted Ana would give him the time it took to get them, much less drink them.
Once the waitress walked away, he started again. “I want you to think about a few things, okay? Do you check in with someone regularly? Someone who would notice if you didn’t check in by a certain time?”
“Cole, this isn’t necessary.”
“It is. That kid of yours is a ticking time bomb. Hewillexplode and act out in one form or another. It’s not a matter of if but when. I need to know you’ll be safe when he does. Now answer the question. Do you have someone you contact daily? Your parents? Sasha? A…boyfriend?”
Her lashes flicked up; her gaze wary.
“Quinley.”
Jealousy roared through him at the unfamiliar name, but he forced himself to focus. “Is that Ben’s father?”
“No. Like I told you last night, Benji—Ben’s father isn’t in the picture.”
He noted that she hadn’t elaborated on Quinley’s identity. “Since when? Is this a new thing?”
“No.”
She really didn’t like his questions. Which made him want to ask more. “Do have any weapons in the house?”
“What? No.”
“Do you have a baseball bat?”
“Yes but??—”
“A lock on your bedroom door?”
“Yes, Cole, my door locks,” she said, her tone revealing her exasperation.
“Good. When you get home tonight, I want you to hide the bat in your room. A kitchen knife and can of bug spray, too. The kind that shoots twenty feet. Put them in three separate areas so that they’re easy to get to but only you know about.”
“I’m not hurting mychild.”
“Not even if he was hurting you? This is for self-defense, Ana. Worst case scenario which you say will never happen. So since it won’t happen, you can make the preparations as though protecting yourself from an intruder.”
“You want me to blind my son with bug spray?”
“I want you to protect yourself fromanyonewho comes into that locked room with the intent to do you harm.”
“This is ridiculous. Benji is angry, yes, but he isn’t dangerous. Shoving me and swearing at me doesn’t mean I need to resort tothat.”
Cole stilled at her words. “He’s shoved you?”
“Here you go,” the waitress said, lowering their drinks to the table before hurrying on.
Cole didn’t take his eyes off Analise, who picked up her white wine and took a sip, glanced at him, and then took a gulp.
He lifted his hand and placed it along her nape, holding her gently. She felt as fragile as she looked. Her skin soft like velvet and hot to the touch. “Ana…”
“Don’t make it out to be more than it was,” she said, her words emerging raw. “He’s a hormonal teenager.”
“That doesn’t give him a free pass, Ana. Teenager or not, he needs to control himself and his anger like any other person.” He leaned toward her, sitting sideways in his chair with one foot behind her chair and one in front.
